High-frequency impedance transformer



Patented July 3, 1951 UNITED STATES OF'FlCE' HIGH-FREQUENCY IMPEDANCE TRANS-FORMER.

William W. Hansen, Stanford University, and John ,R. Woodyard, Berkeley, Calif., assignors to The Sperry Corporation, a corporation of Delaware 7 Claims. (Cl. 178-44) The present invention relates generally to the art of high frequency energy transmission and apparatus related thereto, and has reference more particularl to novel improvements in impedance matching and transforming devices adapted for use with this type of apparatus and operating ,at super-high frequencies of the order of a billion cycles per second and higher. The present application is a division of copend-ing application Serial No. 393,868 for High Frequency Apparatus filed May 17, 1941, now U. S. Patent No. 2,4063? 2, issued August 27, 1946.

In transferring energy from one high-frequency device to another, it is. well known that the values of the impedances of the respective devices must be properly matched in order to avoid production of standing waves with attending increase in loss and decrease in the energy-transmitting capacity of the system. Furthermore, for maximum efficiency, it is known that the impedance of a load or utilization device must be properly transformed to match that of the source.

Accordingly, the present invention is primarily directed toward the provision of an improved impedance matching and transforming device which is adapted to efiiciently couple circuit elements interconnected thereby andto match-the impedance values of said elements with a mini.- mum of adjustment and a maximum offacility and efiiciency.

A principal object therefore of the present invention is to provide novel impedance-matching or; -transforming means for matching the impedance of an apparatus of the above character; to that of another apparatus, such impedancematching means being designed for versatile operation in that it may efficientl couple two impedance elements having impedances of different values with high efficiency of power flow there,- between.

Another object of the present invention is; to.

provide novel impedance-matching means which. are. so designed as to efficientl match both;the resistive and the reactive components of the impedance elements interconnected thereby and having generally different impedance values;

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved impedance-matching trans:

former having a minimum number of. adjuste ments .and a maximumrange of transformations;

The inventionin another of its aspects relates to novel features of the instrumentalitiesdescribed herein for achieving the principal ob.- jects of the invention and .to novel principlesemployedin those instrumentalities, whether or not these features and principles are used for the.

said principal objects or in the same field.

A. further object of the invention is to provide improved apparatus and instrumentalitiesem-t bodying novel features and principles, adapted for use in realizing the above objects andgalso.

adapted for use in other fields,

adjustable independently-of the axial disposition of the impedance elements relative to said linesection.

Other objects and advantages will becomeape parent from the specification taken in connection...

with the accompanying drawing whereinv the. single figure is a longitudinal cross-sectional view,

partly diagrammatic, of the impedance-matching device of the present invention audits circuit.

Referring now to thev drawing, the figure illus.- trates a concentric line impedance transformer or matching device 81 which is suitable for connecting and matching any circuit. element having a general impedance value. Z; to another circuitv element having, in. general, an other impedance.

value Z. Transformer 81 illustrated as. com-.

prising a central sleeve or outer conductor 9| in which are mounted the ends of spaced concentric the sleeve 9 I adapted for connection, in any well-known man-. ner, to other transmission lines .or to the circuit elements having impedances Z and Z respectively.

vided with bores of suitable diameter for receiving a slidable shorting-plug IllI carrying a' reduced-diameter rod I93. The diameter of the.

bore in member 99 and the diameter of rod I93 are suitably selected to form an. eificient concentric. transmission line. The other end of rodv I03, illustrated as reduced, is threaded as at I05 upon which threaded portion is mounted shorting-plug. I01 which fits snugly but slidably within. the. Plug I01 has. anenlarged.

bore of member 91. portion I09 serving as a knob whereby the dis-' Two cylindrical end members 91, 99 are pro-- back and forth within outer members 91, 99 and sleeve 9| by longitudinal motion of knob I09.

Rod I03 slides within a fixed sleeve III, whose outer diameter is Suitably selected so that it bears the same ratio to the inner diameter of sleeve 9I that the diameter of rod I03 bears to the bore of members 91, 99, Sleeve III is permanently connected to the inner conductors 93', 95 of transmission lines 93, 95 and is therefore stationary with respect to outer sleeve 9I as well as to members 91, 99, sleeve I I I is tapered to the dimension of rod I03 at its end portions, as illustrated at I06 and I00. Members 91, 99 have corresponding internal tapers H0, H2. The respective tapers I06, H and I09, II2 are so'selected as to maintain constant the ratio of the magnitudes of the outer diameter of the inner conductor to that of the inner diameter of the outer conductor, thereby maintaining substantially constant characteristic impedance for all sections of the concentric line element.

The mode of operation of the above-describedimpedance transformer is as follows: Knob I09 is rotated until the distance between the inner faces I02, I04 of the shorting-plugs I 0|, I0! is approximatel one-half wavelength at the operating frequency. Then the entire inner portion comprising rod I03 and plugs IOI, I01 is slid back and forth as a unit until proper match is obtained. At the optimum point, the impedance Z of the device connected to the transformer 81, by means of the transmission line 93, in parallel with the short-circuited section I03, 99 below the connected point of line 93, is matched over the length of line between the connecting point of transmission line 93 and that of transmission line 95, to the impedance Z of the device connected to line 95 in parallel with the short-circuited stub I03, 91 above the connecting point of transmission line 95.

The impedance transformer 81 will match, with certain limitations, a device of any impedance value to another device of any impedance value connected therethrough. It is perfectly symmetrical in action; that is, when a lower impedance value is to be matched to a higher impedance value, the device having either one may be connected to either terminal of the transformer 81.

It will be understood that while the present above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is: V

1. A coaxial line impedance transformer comprising a tubular outer conductor, means connecting the outer conductors of'two coaxial transmission lines to said tubular outer conductor at spaced points thereon, a slidable inner conductor positioned to cooperate with said tubular conductor to form a coaxial line section therewith,

two shorting plugs carried by said slidable inner conductor at the ends thereof respectively and adapted to short-circuit said tubular conductor .4 to said inner conductor at said ends of said inner conductor, said plugs being slidable within said tubular conductor, means to adjust the length of the portion of said inner conductor between said short-circuited end, and means to connect the inner conductors of said two coaxial trans mission lines through sliding contact to spaced points of said inner conductor corresponding to said spaced points of said tubular conductor.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said inner conductor is formed of a rod and sleeve, said sleeve being coaxially disposed relative to and surrounding a portion of said rod.

3. Apparatus as in claim 2 wherein said sleeve is fixed relative to said tubular outer conductor and adapted to receive the inner conductors of the two coaxial transmission lines.

4. A coaxial line impedance transformer for matching the impedances of two circuit elements comprising a tubular sleeve having a bore of a predetermined inner diameter, two further sleeves having equal bores of diameter less than that of said tubular sleeve coaxially positioned at each end of said tubular sleeve, each of said further sleeves including a tapered section between the bore of said further sleeve and the bore of said tubular sleeve, two plugs slidably engaging the bores of said further sleeves respectively, a rod of diameter less than that of said plugs connected between said plugs, one end of said rod being threaded into one of said plugs, whereby the distance between said plugs may be adjusted by turning said one plug with respect to said rod, a second tubular sleeve positioned around and slidingly fitting said rod, said second tubular sleeve having tapered ends disposed adjacent the tapered portions of said further sleeves, the dimensions of said bores, the inner diameter of said first tubular sleeve,-the outer diameter of said rod and said second tubular sleeve, and said tapered portions being so proportioned thatthe- 5. A transformer as defined in claim 4 further characterized by twotransmission lines havin their outer conductors rigidlyconnected to said first tubular sleeve and to a respective one of said further sleeves at the tapered portions there of, and their inner conductors fixedly connected to said second tubular sleeve at its tapered por- V tions. I

6. An impedance transformer comprising a tubular outer conductor, means connecting the outer conductors of two coaxial transmission lines to said tubular outer conductor at spaced points thereon, a slidable inner conductor positioned to cooperate with'said tubular outer conductor to form a coaxial transmission line section therewith, shorting means carried by each 1 end of said inner conductor and connecting each said end to said outer conductor, means connecting the inner conductors of said two coaxial transmission lines through sliding contact to spaced points of said inner conductor corresponding to 5 said spaced points of said tubular outer conductor, and means for adjusting the effective length of said slidable inner conductorbetween said shorting means.

7. An impedance transformer including anouter conductor means, an inner conductor p'ositioned to. cooperatewithsaid outer conductor to form a transmission line section therewith, a shorting plug at each end of said inner conductor means and adapted to short circuit said outer conductor to said inner conductor means at each end of said inner conductor means, means for adjusting the distance between said shorting plugs to vary the effective length of said transmission line section, said last-named means including said inner conductor means, two coaxial transmission lines having their outer conductors connected to said outer conductor of said line section at spaced points therealong and having their inner conductors connected to said inner conductor means of said line section at correspondingly spaced points therealong, and means for adjusting both of said shorting plugs as a unit axially along said outer conductor to vary the effective positions of said transmission lines on said line section, said last-named means including said inner conductor means.

WILLIAM W. HANSEN. JOHN R. WOODYARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,921,117 Darbord Aug. 8, 1933 1,927,393 Darbord Sept. 19, 1933 2,000,032 Lindenblad May 7, 1935 2,041,378 Smith May 19, 1936 2,106,769 Southworth Feb. 1, 1938 2,177,272 Zottu Oct. 24, 1939 2,203,481 Zottu June 4, 1940 2,232,179 King Feb. 18, 1941 2,238,438 Alford Apr. 15, 1941 2,234,529 Mason May 26, 1942 Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,558,749 July 3, 1951 WILLIAM W. HANSEN ET AL.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows:

Column 2 line 31 after transmission insert Zines column 4: line 74 1 7 a s a after conductor ,second occurrence, insert means;

and that the said Letters Patent should be read as corrected above, so that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Oifice. Signed and sealed this 18th day of September, A. D. 1951.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant of Patents. 

